RCMP executes drug raid at Welamukotuk
Mounties effect six arrests last at Oromocto First Nation as part of trafficking investigation
Three of six suspects arrested last week at Welamukotuk (Oromocto) First Nation when RCMP officers carried out a drug raid will face charges at a later date, the Mounties report.
The New Brunswick RCMP issued a news release Wednesday morning, indicating officers embarked on a drug-trafficking investigation Jan. 9 in the indigenous community in Oromocto.
“On Jan. 16, 2025, at approximately 5 a.m., members of the Oromocto RCMP and the New Brunswick RCMP’s emergency response team executed a search warrant at a residence on Waasis Road in the community of Oromocto First Nation,” the release said.
“During the search, police seized quantities of what is believed to be cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription medication, drug paraphernalia and cash.”
Five people were arrested at the scene without incident: two women from the First Nation, aged 34 and 48; a 47-year-old Burton man; a 38-year-old man from Geary; and a 40-year-old man from Oromocto.
Officers also arrested a 40-year-old Welamukotuk man a short time later, it said, at a residence on Moccasin Lane on the First Nation.
The men from Burton and Welmukotuk remain in custody on unrelated cases, the RCMP reported Wednesday, while the 40-year-old Welamukotuk woman was released on conditions and a promise to appear in court at a later date to face charges.
The other three people who were arrested - the Geary and Oromocto men, and the 34-year-old woman - were released, the police said.
Welamukotuk Chief Shelley Sabattis and others in the community have complained publicly that the community hasn’t received sufficient support from the RCMP to deal with a serious drug problem in the community, which they blame on non-indigenous outsiders on the First Nation.
Sabattis and eight others from the community are facing break, enter and assault charges stemming from an alleged instance of vigilantism April 29 during which a man accused of drug trafficking at Welamukotuk was attacked.
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